1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to animal water supply systems, particularly to water supply systems for fowl or small animals. More specifically, the field of the invention is that of connectors for coupling adjacent portions of water conduits employed in such water supply systems.
2. Prior Art
In raising fowl or small animals, the provision of water is essential for safe and efficient nurturing. With chickens, for example, water is important in terms of cost because chickens receiving more water consume less food. In addition to the chickens needing water to grow, water can provide other benefits, for example, medicine and vitamins can be added to provide the chickens beneficial nutrients. However, problems with the water supply can adversely affect the chickens. Leakage in the water supply system can foster bacteria growth and infection, and left unchecked can flood the hen house and drown the chickens. Therefore, water accumulating on the floors of the hen house should be avoided. Even if only small leakage is present, for example by a bad fluid connection or an improperly seated valve, then the excess water can wet the chicken and litter thus fostering bacteria and mold which may endanger the health of the chickens.
A water supply system described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,284,036, 4,491,088, 4,589,373, and 4,637,345 solves many of the aforementioned problems, and each of these patents is expressly incorporated by reference herein. These patents describe a valve for providing water to chickens and the like which minimizes water leakage. The valves are provided on water conduits which may be attached in rows to cages or other structures in the poultry house; alternatively, a suspended system may be used wherein the rows of water conduits are attached to the underside of a ballast pipe by a ballast and conduit connector. The valve and conduit are formed from a food grade material such as plastic or ABS material. The valve disclosed in the aforementioned patents has a tubular body with a tapered lower bore which is sealed by a pin having a head resting on a rubber cup on the inside lower surface of the valve. The pin is a shiny metallic element which attracts the attention of chickens. Normally, a chicken moves the pin with its beak, and the valve allows a small water droplet to pass so that the chicken can easily consume the droplet as it flows down the pin.
In a suspended system, the ballast pipe may be a rigid elongate element, such as a galvanized steel pipe. The pipe and ballast connector holds the conduit in spaced relation below the pipe. The top of the pipe and conduit connector is used to hold an electrically conductive cable which serves as an anti-roosting device. The pipe and conduit of each row are thus coupled together and suspended from the ceiling of facility by a hanger system such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,462, entitled "HANGER FOR WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM AND METHOD OF INSTALLATION", assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is explicitly incorporated by reference.
For each row of the animal water supply system, two or more adjacent sections of the water conduit may be fluidly coupled by connectors. FIGS. 2 and 3 show prior art water conduit connector 20 which is adapted to receive and fluidly couple adjacent ends of two water conduit sections. In the unassembled state (FIG. 2), connector 20 includes five components: cylindrical body 22, two o-rings 24, and two end caps 26. When assembled (FIG. 3), o-rings 24 are located in pockets 28 which are formed between end caps 26 and internal shoulders 30 of body 22. Also, connector body 22 defines separating portion 32 in its middle to prevent direct abutment of conduit ends 34. Further, with conduit end 32 inserted within body 22 and extending past shoulder 30, o-ring 24 is compressed within pocket 28 to form a fluid seal with conduit outer surface 36.
In order to attach end caps 26 to connector body 22, end caps 26 are fitted into each end 38 of body 22. Caps 26 include an outer rim 26.1 which extends to the outer diameter of body 22, inner extension 26.2 which is received within the inner diameter of end 38, and bead 26.3 located at the juncture of rim 26.1 and extension 26.2. During sonic welding, bead 26.3 may supply material for the coalescence between the outer diameter of extension 26.2 and the inner diameter of end 38 and thereby aids in bonding the two pieces together, generally along the dotted line of FIG. 3. Extension 26.2 does not extend to and abut shoulder 30, instead pockets 28 are created between shoulders 30 and their respective extensions 26.2 for locating o-rings 24 within the inner surface of body 22. Ends 38 and end caps 26 are thereby secured together by sonic welding to define pockets 28.
The process of assembling connector 20 is labor intensive and therefor significantly adds to its cost. First, one cap 26 is inserted into end 38 and manually placed in a sonic welding device in order to bond cap 26 to end 38. Next, body 22 is removed from the sonic welding device and the one end 38 is finished. Then, another cap 26 is manually inserted into the other end 38 and manually placed in the sonic welding device to bond cap 26 to the other end 38. After the second sonic welding, body 22 is removed and the other end 38 is finished. Also, o-rings 24 are located into pockets 28 to complete the assembly of connector 20. Thus, each connector 20 must be sonically welded twice in order to secure caps 26 to body 22.
Although injection molding a single piece is preferred over sonically welding three pieces together, conventional injection molding techniques are unable to form pockets having a sufficiently large size to hold the o-rings. In order to form such pockets and thereby securely position the sealing ring, the more expensive sonic weld process is required.
On larger water supply systems, several water conduit connectors may be needed on each row to couple sections of the water conduit. The cost of the water conduit connectors is a significant portion of the total cost of the water supply system. Thus, lowering the manufacturing cost of the water conduit connectors may significantly reduce the cost of a water supply system.
What is needed is a water conduit connector which may be more efficiently produced.
Also needed is a water conduit connector which does not require sonic welding as part of its manufacturing process.